Hi all,
Saw my first ever Hummingbird Hawk Moth (Macroglossum stellatarum)
last night.
Went out into the garden after watching Gardener's World and whilst
admiring my (nature's) handiwork I noticed this tiny creature darting
and hovering around the Sweet William.
I watched it for about 45-60 seconds before it flew away over the
fence, checking out the hydrangeas on its way.

Yes I did think it was a real hummingbird, but a quick check on the
internet dashed that hope.

Quite an amazing sight.
Makes up for all the missing butterflies so far
Did not realize a moth could have such rapid wing movement.
I will be out there tonight and hope it (he/she) comes around again.

Regards
Geoff
Norfolk

Thank goodness for your report ; last year I saw one of these moths around
some flowers here at home in Cornwall. I tried without success to find
somebody else who might have seen one. What is known off these creatures.
Lepslie



"GeoffH" wrote in message
...
Hi all,
Saw my first ever Hummingbird Hawk Moth (Macroglossum stellatarum)
last night.
Went out into the garden after watching Gardener's World and whilst
admiring my (nature's) handiwork I noticed this tiny creature darting
and hovering around the Sweet William.
I watched it for about 45-60 seconds before it flew away over the
fence, checking out the hydrangeas on its way.

Yes I did think it was a real hummingbird, but a quick check on the
internet dashed that hope.

Quite an amazing sight.
Makes up for all the missing butterflies so far
Did not realize a moth could have such rapid wing movement.
I will be out there tonight and hope it (he/she) comes around again.

Regards
Geoff
Norfolk

In article , Therefore
writes
"GeoffH" wrote in message
.. .
Hi all,
Saw my first ever Hummingbird Hawk Moth (Macroglossum stellatarum)
last night.
Went out into the garden after watching Gardener's World and whilst
admiring my (nature's) handiwork I noticed this tiny creature darting
and hovering around the Sweet William.
I watched it for about 45-60 seconds before it flew away over the
fence, checking out the hydrangeas on its way.

Yes I did think it was a real hummingbird, but a quick check on the
internet dashed that hope.

Quite an amazing sight.
Makes up for all the missing butterflies so far
Did not realize a moth could have such rapid wing movement.
I will be out there tonight and hope it (he/she) comes around again.

Thank goodness for your report ; last year I saw one of these moths around
some flowers here at home in Cornwall. I tried without success to find
somebody else who might have seen one. What is known off these creatures.

They are migrants from France which turn up in the southern half of
England almost every year, sometimes in quite large numbers, in whih
years they often reach further north into Scotland.

See, e.g., http://cgi.ukmoths.force9.co.uk/show.php?bf=1984

--
Malcolm

In article ,
(GeoffH) wrote:

Saw my first ever Hummingbird Hawk Moth (Macroglossum stellatarum)
last night.

Well, I saw this really weird bug yesterday. It had a body about 3"
long, bright yellow and 4 wings about 3" across. It kept on returning to
the top of one of the bamboo poles supporting a tomato plant.

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com

Malcolm wrote:
They are migrants from France which turn up in the southern half of
England almost every year, sometimes in quite large numbers, in whih
years they often reach further north into Scotland.

See, e.g., http://cgi.ukmoths.force9.co.uk/show.php?bf=1984

OK so there I was sitting by the pond feeding the fish when this beast came
along and hovered in front of me. Having never seen one before I was
somewhat apprehensive. (Strange things with stings worry me). First off I
thought it looked like a very fat damsel fly, but in the time I had to look
at it (not very long) I noticed its abdomen was about the size of a 13 amp
fuse, tan in colour and furry. Very rapid wing movements. Not much to go on
I know but all I was thinking was 'if that thing has a sting I could get
hurt' any ideas?

Steve R

"Essjay001" pushed briefly to the front of the
queue on Mon, 23 Jun 2003 04:30:14 +0000 (UTC), and nailed this to the
shed door:

^ OK so there I was sitting by the pond feeding the fish when this beast came
^ along and hovered in front of me. Having never seen one before I was
^ somewhat apprehensive. (Strange things with stings worry me). First off I
^ thought it looked like a very fat damsel fly, but in the time I had to look
^ at it (not very long) I noticed its abdomen was about the size of a 13 amp
^ fuse, tan in colour and furry. Very rapid wing movements. Not much to go on
^ I know but all I was thinking was 'if that thing has a sting I could get
^ hurt' any ideas?

A hornet?

Andy
--

"No, you claim the magpie is to blame for all the
worlds ills, based on your ignorance of magpies."
(4a7391c12e538ef306d33d71c9482221@TeraNews)

On Sun, 22 Jun 2003 00:36 +0100 (BST), Steve Harris
wrote:

In article ,
(GeoffH) wrote:

Saw my first ever Hummingbird Hawk Moth (Macroglossum stellatarum)
last night.

Well, I saw this really weird bug yesterday. It had a body about 3" long,
bright yellow and 4 wings about 3" across. It kept on returning to the
top of one of the bamboo poles supporting a tomato plant.

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com


Dragonfly?

In article , Andy Spragg
writes
"Essjay001" pushed briefly to the front of the
queue on Mon, 23 Jun 2003 04:30:14 +0000 (UTC), and nailed this to the
shed door:

^ OK so there I was sitting by the pond feeding the fish when this beast came
^ along and hovered in front of me. Having never seen one before I was
^ somewhat apprehensive. (Strange things with stings worry me). First off I
^ thought it looked like a very fat damsel fly, but in the time I had to look
^ at it (not very long) I noticed its abdomen was about the size of a 13 amp
^ fuse, tan in colour and furry. Very rapid wing movements. Not much to go on
^ I know but all I was thinking was 'if that thing has a sting I could get
^ hurt' any ideas?

A hornet?

Hornets have black and yellow striped bodies, not "tan". They're just
like wasps on steroids, but without the aggression!

What I'm not clear about is whether Essjay has looked at the picture of
a Hummingbird Hawkmoth, because what he is describing fits that fairly
well.

--
Malcolm

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On Mon, 23 Jun 2003 09:15:44 +0100, Malcolm wrote:


In article , Andy Spragg
writes
"Essjay001" pushed briefly to the front of the
queue on Mon, 23 Jun 2003 04:30:14 +0000 (UTC), and nailed this to the
shed door:

^ OK so there I was sitting by the pond feeding the fish when this beast
came
^ along and hovered in front of me. Having never seen one before I was
^ somewhat apprehensive. (Strange things with stings worry me). First
off I
^ thought it looked like a very fat damsel fly, but in the time I had to
look
^ at it (not very long) I noticed its abdomen was about the size of a 13
amp
^ fuse, tan in colour and furry. Very rapid wing movements. Not much to
go on
^ I know but all I was thinking was 'if that thing has a sting I could
get
^ hurt' any ideas?

Short wings, long wings (in comparison to body-length)? Wholly or partly
transparent, or solid wings, with or without markings? All things difficult
to remember or even notice at a fleeting glance, I know. Did the legs hang
down while it was flying? Did you notice the antennae. Did it seem to have
a waist at all, like a wasps, bees or ants do?


A hornet?

There are some short stumpy-bodied dragonflies (can't think of any names at
the moment).

Hornets have black and yellow striped bodies, not "tan". They're just
like wasps on steroids, but without the aggression!

Hornets (Vespa crabro) have orange/brown eyes and hairs
[http://www.muenster.org/hornissenschutz/hornets.htm], whereas the common
wasp (Vespula vulgaris) have black hair and eyes.
[http://www.hadleyweb.pwp.blueyonder....a_vulgaris.htm]

If you see a black and yellow thing that's as big as a hornet it's probably
a queen wasp.

What I'm not clear about is whether Essjay has looked at the picture of a
Hummingbird Hawkmoth, because what he is describing fits that fairly
well.

GeoffH wrote:

Hi all,
Saw my first ever Hummingbird Hawk Moth (Macroglossum stellatarum)
last night.
Went out into the garden after watching Gardener's World and whilst
admiring my (nature's) handiwork I noticed this tiny creature darting
and hovering around the Sweet William.
I watched it for about 45-60 seconds before it flew away over the
fence, checking out the hydrangeas on its way.

Yes I did think it was a real hummingbird, but a quick check on the
internet dashed that hope.

Quite an amazing sight.
Makes up for all the missing butterflies so far
Did not realize a moth could have such rapid wing movement.
I will be out there tonight and hope it (he/she) comes around again.

Regards
Geoff
Norfolk

Are you sure it was a hummingbird hawk moth? They are usually day fliers
AFAIK. There are lots of other hawkmoths that are night fliers. There is an
excellent guide to hawmoths of the UK in this months BBC Wildlife mag.
Anita

In article , A.Malhotra
writes


GeoffH wrote:

Hi all,
Saw my first ever Hummingbird Hawk Moth (Macroglossum stellatarum)
last night.
Went out into the garden after watching Gardener's World and whilst
admiring my (nature's) handiwork I noticed this tiny creature darting
and hovering around the Sweet William.
I watched it for about 45-60 seconds before it flew away over the
fence, checking out the hydrangeas on its way.

Yes I did think it was a real hummingbird, but a quick check on the
internet dashed that hope.

Quite an amazing sight.
Makes up for all the missing butterflies so far
Did not realize a moth could have such rapid wing movement.
I will be out there tonight and hope it (he/she) comes around again.

Regards
Geoff
Norfolk

Are you sure it was a hummingbird hawk moth? They are usually day fliers
AFAIK. There are lots of other hawkmoths that are night fliers. There is an
excellent guide to hawmoths of the UK in this months BBC Wildlife mag.

Depending a little where he lives, watching a hummingbird hawk moth
outside after watching Gardener's World, i.e. just after 9.00 p.m., does
not necessarily mean that it was night-time. It was after all on the
longest day of the year!

--
Malcolm

Malcolm wrote:

Depending a little where he lives, watching a hummingbird hawk moth
outside after watching Gardener's World, i.e. just after 9.00 p.m., does
not necessarily mean that it was night-time. It was after all on the
longest day of the year!

--
Malcolm


True! I just read the "went out last night" bit and thought he DID mean
night! I have no idea what time GW is on, I don't have a telly. But I
suppose I should have worked it out is wasn't likely to be a late show!
Anita

Yes it was still light.
From the photos I could find on the internet it looked like it was.
I will check the magazine just to make sure.
It was just such an unusual sight to see that brain just would not
function, not that it does at the best of times.
All I can remember now is the mottled rump it had.
No chance of seeing what the wings where like at all, except they
looked hummingbird like if that's any good :-)
It remains daylight until after 9pm here in Norfolk.
GeoffH


On Mon, 23 Jun 2003 11:32:59 +0100, "A.Malhotra"
wrote:


Are you sure it was a hummingbird hawk moth? They are usually day fliers
AFAIK. There are lots of other hawkmoths that are night fliers. There is an
excellent guide to hawmoths of the UK in this months BBC Wildlife mag.
Anita

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Malcolm wrote:

Hornets have black and yellow striped bodies, not "tan". They're just
like wasps on steroids, but without the aggression!

No not a Hornet


What I'm not clear about is whether Essjay has looked at the picture
of a Hummingbird Hawkmoth, because what he is describing fits that
fairly well.
Yes I did but it's not that either, but I am inclined to think it might be a
moth of some kind

Tim wrote:

Short wings, long wings (in comparison to body-length)? Wholly or
partly transparent, or solid wings, with or without markings? All
things difficult to remember or even notice at a fleeting glance, I
know. Did the legs hang down while it was flying? Did you notice the
antennae. Did it seem to have a waist at all, like a wasps, bees or
ants do?

Sorry, but I didn't see the wings (moving too fast) or remember legs and
things was more concerned that I hadn't seen one before and it looked big
enough to give a painful sting. Having said that in hindsight it probably
wasn't a stinger.





A hornet?

There are some short stumpy-bodied dragonflies (can't think of any
names at the moment).

Hornets have black and yellow striped bodies, not "tan". They're just
like wasps on steroids, but without the aggression!

Hornets (Vespa crabro) have orange/brown eyes and hairs
[http://www.muenster.org/hornissenschutz/hornets.htm], whereas the
common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) have black hair and eyes.

[http://www.hadleyweb.pwp.blueyonder....lgaris/vespula
_vulgaris.htm]

If you see a black and yellow thing that's as big as a hornet it's
probably a queen wasp.

What I'm not clear about is whether Essjay has looked at the picture
of a Hummingbird Hawkmoth, because what he is describing fits that
fairly well.